The Tide roll right through the Irish for its third national title in four years

It featured the two most storied programs in college football...but this particular story was over quickly. Alabama dominated Notre Dame from the opening drive and walked off the field with a 42-14 win. By first half’s end, the Crimson Tide was up 28-0 and just one fewer touchdown than the Irish had first downs. Notre Dame came into the game with one of the most touted defense’s in the nation, but could not keep up with Alabama’s speed, or slow down quarterback AJ McCarron. The Irish didn't score until the 4:08 mark in the third quarter, marking the first time the Tide had given up a point in the BCS title game in over 108 minutes.

It was over when:
Notre Dame kicked off. Or maybe when Alabama won the SEC title game last month to earn a spot in this game. Whenever it was, the Irish never had a chance. Alabama scored on its first three possessions and suffocated Notre Dame defensively. From a scoreboard standpoint, the game seemed officially complete when the Crimson Tide went up 21-0 on a 1-yard run four seconds into the second quarter. But really, this was a mismatch before the coin was flipped or National Anthem sung.

Turning point:
It probably wouldn’t have mattered given how dominant Alabama was, but when Notre Dame punted on its initial possession, Crimson Tide return man Christion Jones fumbled the ball after a teammate ran into him. However, the officials said that it was the Irish that interfered, and gave Alabama the ball. ND would have been within striking distance to tie the game 7-7. Instead…well, you saw what happened.

Game balls go to:
Alabama running back Eddie Lacy, who didn’t seem to need the Tide’s NFL-caliber line, but eluded the ND defense with pure speed en route to 96 first-half yards on 12 carries; Tide safety Haha Clinton-Dix, who led his team with four first-half tackles while nabbing an electrifying interception on Notre Dame’s first possession of the second half; ‘Bama coach Nick Saban, who became the first coach to win three national championships in the BCS era, and whose three titles in four years as impressive as any dynasty college football has produced.

Second guessing:
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly had some questionable play calls during his team’s opening drive, as Irish quarterback Everett Golson threw long to a well-covered Tyler Eifert – both of which were incomplete. Seemed heavy on risk and light on reward, as Notre Dame was unable to gain momentum. Still, in a game like this, a coach won’t be beating himself up for one, two, or 10 bad decisions.